Rubick's Arcane PilgrimagE
by Bob Suarez
Summary: In which the Grand Magus sets off on an ADVENCHA! to sate his curiosity. Not BAMF but close. We jumpin' streams, crossovers will eventually be aplenty.


A/N: I would like to point out the thing I did with the title is not going to be a central theme. Granted, Rubick will kick ass but he won't actually commit a woman's worst nightmare. I'll most likely make this a continuous thing, as the idea of the Grand Magus going from dimension to dimension, all to unravel the numerous secrets behind arcanery while kicking ass the whole way is appealing to me. As to how long Rubick will remain in the Fairy Tail universe, who knows? It'll be loads of fun to write though. Also Rubick rolls his 'Rs' sometimes, hence why there'll be '~' in front of them on occasion, including all the other times some syllables will be dragged out.

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail's characters, locations and the like all belong to Hiro Mashima. Dota's various spells, characters and the like (I think) all belong to Valve, as I believe they purchased the DotA rights from Icefrog now, and he's just lead on the balance team? Either way, everything belongs to their respective owners, no profit is being made nor will be made by this story. I reiterate, these stories of mine are being posted on a fanfiction site. I'm not exactly taking a bath in a solid gold tub, or wiping my ass with Benjamins, ya feel me?

Chapter 1

The Grand Magus known as Rubick has a few similarities that ties in with all geniuses: He's unique (the politically correct way of saying fucking weird), driven towards what fascinates him with a vigour considered scary by those of lesser mental facilities and at least somewhat insane. All of the above stated facts are what lead him to join the never-ending war to decide which Ancient would rule over the universe (not to be confused with the multi-verse, that's a much bigger fish to fry).

He knew he would be pit against any and every hero the Ancients had convinced to join the fray, from the fiercest warriors, to the most cunning sorcerors, eldritch abominations whose true nature would melt the minds of many a mortal, abberations from other dimensions, even the fundamental forces of the universe themselves would join in. As a scholar of the Arcane, especially one as talented as he in the analysis of magical energies (which would make him into the finest Spell Thief ever, despite the Grand Magus's insistence that 'it isn't stealing, just borrowing'), Rubick knew there would be no place like the strange and oddly durable valley where the eternal battle would be waged. No other place in the world would offer him such a plethora of magical knowledge and secrets, never mind the fact he'd get to study what would happen to the various races found about the universe (and beyond) and how they'd be affected by the different spells and natural abilities of others. For a scholar like him, this was a wet dream come true!

However, all good things must come to an end. Even seeing Shadow Demon banish his foes to the Seven Hells, the Morning Star himself using his signature demonic curse to Doom his adversaries, a holy Purification that gives proves Gods actually exist, never mind the fact one God was made _mortal_ by his angry Goddess wife for his philandering ways and forced to fight in a 'mortal's game' would get old. Even this gold mine would run dry eventually and it was after battle #undefined did the Grand Magus reach that point.

So, one day Rubick approached the Radiant to discuss his contract's termination, "Ex~cuse me, mind if I have a word?" the black and green wearing sorceror questioned in his strange, dual-toned voice.

The massive swirling vortex held in check by the ruins of some lost race's legacy flashed brighter for a moment, but didn't make a sound.

"I have essentially waged war for you for a long time now. A ve~ry long time. As a scholar of the Arcane, I appreciated the offer for such a unique chance to quell my unquenchable thirst for knowledge and have happily done my duty. However, I feel the oasis the time-loop you and your adversary have created has run its course for me," Rubick paused here, in anticipation of a response of some sorts. After a few seconds of nothing, he pressed on, "And so, I'd like to go now and try my hand elsewhere."

Another brief, not as bright as the previous one, flash occured and a tendril of the purest white light lazily made its way towards the Grand Magus. After making contact with his masked forehead, a brief thought transfer would occur, informing the magus of the Ancient's agreement to let him go of his contract, with benefits.

Firstly, he would leave with the memories of his past battles, which would in turn include each and every spell he stole to give his foes a taste of their own medicine. Secondly, the pocket dimension issued to each Hero which was used to hold the various arcane artifacts and weapons of legend to assist them in their victory, Rubick would get to keep, along with 6 items the magus may choose to bring along for the ride. Thirdly, should he choose to finish this final battle, he would get an "extra gift."

The Grand Magus's chuckle was quite lengthy, "I appreciate your co-operation. If it's no pr~oblem, I'll get to picking my choice of items now. I'll take Dad's Staff, Boots of Travel 2, Kelen's Dagger, Octarine Core, Shiva's Guard and good ol' Sheepstick," Rubick awaited the gradual progress of the tendril, for it to inform him Aghanim's would replace his regular staff, he would wear the boots over his regular ones, Octarine was a surprisingly small enough of a bauble it could be hung on his staff or worn on a necklace and Kelen's could be hung on his hip, allowing him four extra slots essentially. "Ho-hum, going beyond six slots? It'll make me ridiculous, but what the hells; Linken's Sphere, Ghost Scepter, Veil of Discord and Aether Lens. Hm? Linken's is also small enough a bauble to get the Octarine treatment? Veil of Discord replaces my cape? Aether Lens can replace the focus of my Dad's Staff? Wait, wouldn't that last one mess with the intricate magical matrices of Aghanim's Scepter?"

The tendril whipped him lightly on the head for his impudence, "'You're a God, so these things will just work out?!' That's a cop-out of an answer if I ever heard one," Rubick held his tongue after the tendril raised itself menancingly, prepared to strike him once again, "Very well, we'll just call it an Ex Machina and roll with it. Good heavens, a Machina in the intro, what a lazy author..." the last segment was muttered under his breath.

"I'll wind up overloaded on items if this goes further, so I'll just take the storage space while all the items possible will be my regular gear. Sound fair? Ah, I have to summon the Sheepstick from within? How does one summon the Scythe of Vyse? ...Figure it out? Not very helpful, but what kind of scholar would I be if the answer being given to me was satisfactory? Also the Ghost Scepter will inhabit a spectral plane that will remain in the general location of my heart? Fascinating...I wonder if its possible to strike at my heart from that plane? Ah, but I digress. I am finished selecting my items."

In true Shenron style, the brightest glow of light and a whistling tone emitted from the Ancient, signifying the wish of the Grand Magus being granted. A puff of mana mist poofed around the black and green wearing weirdo, dissipating slowly to reveal the Veil of Discord hood over the top of his mask with the cape being slightly shorter than his usual, Aghanim's with an Aether Lens as it's focus crystal and the Octarine Core hanging from a loop just under the crystal attached to the staff in his right hand. Underneath the Veil of Discord, on his shoulders was a set of metal pauldrons. Hanging from the Veil's chain around his neck was Linken's Sphere, the crystal filled with the swirl of blue energy signifying a prepared spell shield. At his feet were the calf-length boots with wings on their sides. An unasked for but appreciated touch by the Ancient, was that he changed the colour scheme of every item to match the black and green of the eccentric mage, even Shiva's Guard being a dull black with its filigree done in green.

The tendril of the Ancient lashed the ground, summoning a magic mirror (not to be confused with a physical but enchanted mirror, but a literal reflective surface made purely by magic) for the Grand Magus to admire the Radiant's handiwork. "My, my, don't I look _dashing_. I appreciate the attention to detail, by the way; enchanting over already enchanted items simply for vanity's sake would've been a collossal pain in the ass! Thanks for that," Rubick shook appendages with the tendril, although it's most likely the human gesture's meaning was lost upon the God-like being.

"Ah yes, you were saying I would have a bonus if I were to finish this last battle, yes?" Rubick saw the Ancient glow bright with a green aura, hinting to its affirmative. Unseen by the world, he grinned viciously, "This won't take long."

-~.1 cast-time is bullshit~-

"A~h, hahaha~!" is the short cackle that preludes the Dire Ancient erupting into fiery bits. Rubick would skip out on the victory dance in order to teleport back in anticipation of his extra reward.

The Radiant wasted no time in showing his Hero what he meant by opening a trio of portals, each a different colour and with a matching arcane sign beside each, a description of what lays beyond insribed upon the signs.

The sunshine yellow portal on the far left leads to a world where there is a certain academy where the weirdest occurences, such as a gaggle of girls chasing after their half-naked teacher in a love-filled daze, arcane duels involving flashy elemental spells being slung like it was going out style, an android as a student, a never-aging little girl remaining perpetually in school, no matter how long she attends the same class are all considered normal. A place where a ten-year old can be a teacher and nobody would bat an eye (save for a heterochromia-afflicted red-head with twintails tied together by bells. By fucking bells).

The forest green portal in the center leads to a world where an amnesiac is allowed to lead a rag-tag group of soldiers against a mad-man and his army, then a conqueror of an entire continent and his absurdly massive army, then fighting to prevent a cataclysmic world-ending event involving a massive black dragon, it's army of patch-work soldiers that grows in number for every enemy they slay and a cult based on said black dragon, filled with zealots so devout in their following, they'd give up their life-force to revive said dragon. A world where plotholes are abundant and character progression is the opposite of the plotholes, in regards to number.

The final, crimson portal on the right leads to a world where magic is sort of wide-spread, and a guild whom is host to four Dragonslayers (one of them being artificial), an exhibitionist, talking, flying cats, a former slave turned Rambo, a walking, talking fan-service provider whose magic is easily countered by simply stealing her keys and an occasionally third-person speaking love-struck woman made of water all end up in all sorts of shenanigans, all the while saving each other and the people who happen to be involved in the jobs they take.

Rubick faced the Ancient once more, "I appr~eciate your consideration; I can see why you believed this would be an adequate bonus reward for services rendered, as I have already seen the finest things of arcane nature offered within my home dimension." On a side note, ever since meeting Mercurial, Barathrum, Isk'Kafel, Darkterror and other cross-dimensional beings, the Grand Magus had been dreadfully curious as to how it would be to act as the visitor as opposed to the visited. What will have changed? Would he be on a parallel version of his home planet? Would the stars align repeatedly once again, for his planet to not only form, but form far enough from the sun to not roast but close enough so as to allow the development of life? All these fascinating questions, and more just awaiting his eventual discovery of the answers.

And now, it was time to make a choice. Rubick was quick to dismiss the center portal, as he feels all the practical experience he gained fighting in Defense of the Ancients was more than enough. He had sated his thirst for combat well enough that his scholarly side was now hankering for its fix. This didn't mean he wouldn't still defend himself if needed, however. Like hell he'd let himself get eighty-six'd because he was too busy running an experiment(s). He was the mother fucking Grand Magus, he didn't call himself that out of arrogance; especially after all he had accomplished as a Hero.

"So~, that leaves door number one and thr~ee. This is quite the conundrum... I guess, dealing with teenage girls sounds like a pain. Door number thr~ee it is!" Rubick turned to the Ancient, jittering with excitement and spoke mostly to himself, "He-heh! I get to cross-dimensionally travel, to a world filled to the gills with alternate styles of spellcraft! I wonder what types of new arcane energies I'll get to study? Ah, only one way to find out, yes?" The Grand Magus bowed to the Ancient before continuing, "Thank you for your generosity, o' Luminous One. Ah, one last thing. Should I ever grow weary of the dimension I'm in, am I figuring a way out or can you port me to and fro still?" There would be no information transfer via tendril this time, only the Ancient glowing with a red hue to signify its negative response, "I see. Well, it's more fun that way! Farewell, and good luck in your future endeavours," and with that, the Grand Magus disappeared into the crimson portal and left his home dimension.

-~Remember going through the gates in Chr*n* Tr*gg*r?~-

On the outskirts of Magnolia Town, a plain partially spotted with the occasional tree, the odd boulder laying about here and there, with a sign conveniently pointing out directions to various locations of import, no strange lights appeared, no sounds of a portal opening up and expelling a certain Magus happened, none of that. It was a peaceful day just like any other. Of course, this might lead one to wonder where the eccentric Magus is, and the answer to that question is-

-~Woosh!~-

The first thing that came to Rubick's mind is the wind is currently really fierce. It was then the Grand Magus noticed the wind's strength came from the fact the portal had ejected him who knows how many kilometers in the air. Having at least a few minutes until landfall, Rubick grabbed the hems of the Veil of Discord's cape and extended his arms, using it as a glider similar to how a flying squirrel would. After a quick minute, he broke through the cloud cover and found himself over the ocean, with only a single island in sight. It would be to his irritation he would notice no port, or town even from his bird's eye view. Upon closer examination of the island, as he was circling about it, he noticed old looking ruins made of stone, complete with a short tower on one side of the island. The Grand Magus hummed to himself as he approached and felt a strange, lingering energy all around the island, with the largest concentration appearing to focus around the ruins.

"This looks like a good place to start exploring, not like I've much of a choice anyway," Rubick muttered to himself, "At least there's always something interesting to learn from ancient ruins."

With help from every Blink available to him, the eccentric sorceror positioned himself above the island and pretty darn close to making that splat landing. Taking inspiration from Eul's Scepter of Divinity, Rubick began to cast Claws of Tornarus but instead of letting it go out and wreck its air-based mayhem, he kept the winds circling underneath him, particularly under Veil of Discord's cape so as to give him an updraft, slowing his fall down enough to a manageable landing speed.

Whilst Rubick gathered his land legs, he noticed several living beings with magic capabilities on the opposite side of the island the ruins were on. Figuring the local populace could tell him the obvious stuff, such as the name of the planet they lived on and other such things, he decided to trek in their direction first, making use of Akasha's, Magina's and Kelen's various Blinks to travel faster. On his way, he used his prodigal skill in magical energy analysis to attempt to classify what he exactly sensed happening throughout the island. "It reminds me of Diffusal Blade's Purge, but much more powerful...I'm willing to bet a thousand gold a dispelling ritual of sorts is happening somewhere on the island. I'm also willing to bet two thousand gold it's happening at those ruins I saw earlier," Rubick expositioned for nobody in particular.

In a blur of Blinks, the Grand Magus found himself in front of the gate to a wooden village, its entirety being overshadowed by local foilage. "So that's how I missed it from my elevated position, natural camoflage. Funny how the mundane way of doing things can still be so effective," he leaned his s taff upon himself as he raised a hand to his chin, "I can't help but wonder how to get in," he paused as Kelen's Dagger and his Blinks came to mind. "Hm, mayhaps not the best idea to waltz in unannounced?" Another pause as Rubick looks up upon the battlements, expecting to see a guard peek over and ramble about how he wasn't a king. "A pity I don't have coconuts to slap together..." the Grand Magus cleared his throat before speaking louder, "Is anyone there? Hello~?"

A pair of heads finally peek through the gaps of the wooden battlements and the one on the left speaks, "Who goes there? And how did you get so close with no one spotting you?"

"My name is R~ubick, the Grand Magus. As to how I got so close, well, you know what they say about magicians and secrets, yes? Now, may I come in?" The Magus's strange dual-toned voice throws the guards off, and were thrown off even more when he annouced his title.

Guard 1 and 2 retreat from sight to speak amongst themselves, "'Grand Magus?' The hell's he on about?" Asked Guard 1

"Dunno, but he did sneak up on us but good. Maybe he's from a guild and took the job?" Guard 2 conjectured.

Guard 1 shook his head, "Even if he is from a guild, we've received no word anyone has accepted the job. It's best we tell him to shove off."

"Hm~m, yes, I must admit I wouldn't trust me either, if I were you two," said a dual-toned voice just behind and between the two-man huddle. Both guards cried out in surprise, Guard 2 stumbling far back enough he wound up toppling over the edge and falling to the unforgiving ground below. Guard 1 forgets about the sudden appearance of the uninvited guest next to him in order to call out his partner's name in angush as he had no other choice but to watch the supposed Magus teleport underneath Guard 2 and use some wind magic to ease his fall. Wait, ho-

-~Suffer the wrath of a Scene Break~-

"-w did you do that?! I've never seen such fast spellwork before!" Guard 1 asked in wonder as his partner and the entire village (apparently) crowded around him after hearing of his exploits.

"My Arcanery is grand, hence my title of Grand Magus. My abilities far exceed most people's imaginations, even some Magi. What I did was simple: With the help of Kelen's Dager here-," with a flourish, Rubick summoned the Blink Dagger and admired its craftmanship briefly before continuing, "-it was easy to position myself for a modified version of my Claws of Tornarus spell. Considering I had to use it to ease my own fall in an earlier situation, I felt rather confident I wouldn't accidentally send your friend into orbit or shred him to bits. Who knew the experiment would be such a rousing success?" Rubick chuckled softly as the entire village sweatdropped at his blunt manner of speaking.

A young child of unknown gender, due to its bulky full-body covering robes and high-pitched voice that could be either a very young boy or a slightly older girl rushed forward and asked with curiosity and wonder befitting one of his/her age, "What does that knife do?"

Instead of answering verbally, Rubick showed the child by Blinking atop the village elder's home, "Any more questions?" Unseen to the villagers, the Grand Magus's hand rested on a wooden beam, burning a teleportation glyph for his Boots of Travel to make use of.

The same child ran to the front of the crowd again, as the people had as one huddled closer, "Where did you come from, Majhus?"

Rubick ignored the mispronunciation and answered, "A very faraway place filled with mythical creatures, powerful wizards and witches, famed warriors and many, many dragons. Wyverns too, and they're a little more vicious, if not as powerful, for the most part...ancient wyverns, and those accursed undead ones are really something, with their ice breath..."

The whole town as one gasped in horror at the mention of dragons, "You mean, you've seen dragons, hoga hoga? How!? They've been said to be extinct for a few years now, hoga!" the village mayor named Mocha (latte with whipped cre-oh wait) exclaimed, horror evident in his voice.

"Oh, where I'm from they never left. Their longevity makes certain parts of select mountain ranges impossible to settle close to once their avarice grows with them; dragons have always been finicky as to what qualifies as their territory," Rubick rambled with no real direction before focusing on the mayor, "Forgive me, but I'm new to these parts. What is the name of this town, island and any country this island happens to be a province of?"

"Why sir, you really are from far away if you don't even know what you've gotten yourself into. This is the cursed village called Galuna Town, named after the island, hoga hoga. We're under no flag, but the closest port would be Hargeon Town of the mainland Fiore. You must be from across the ocean if you don't know that, hoga," Mocha told the dimensional traveller before turning to the villagers behind him, "Go ahead everyone! He may not have taken the job but he might know what to do."

The people of Galuna Town obliged their mayor and as one removed their outer bulky robes to reveal their corrupted limbs and occasional faces. As they did this, Rubick's iconic green magic energy faintly swirled around several adults and a few children, making sure to analyze as many females as males, so as to not have prejudiced data based on gender.

To most people, the appearance of the villagers' would be horrifying. It should go without saying however that Rubick is not in anyway like most people: "Yes, about that curse? It's not so much a curse, but the spilled over effects of a large-scale dispelling ritual being held at the ruins on the other side of the island. As far as I can tell with what analysis I've conducted on most of you on the fly, there's actually been nothing for it to dispell," At this, the townsfolk looked flabbergasted, as something is clearly still strange. Why else would their own appearances horrify them so? Before they could interrupt, the Grand Magus continued, "This is purely conjecture, but it's either you are all actually demons with some great mind-altering spell made to make you believe you're all human that even **I** can't detect that's gradually being removed, or the dispelling residual energy is messing with your memories and you're all still demons. My gut tells me the simpler answer is true, but who knows unless I can conduct some more thorough tests."

A young woman whose legs would remind one of a Satyr stepped forward, "W-wait, so what you're saying is, the purple moon isn't why we've turned into demons? We've actually _been_ demons this whole time?!"

A thoughtful hum escapes Rubick as he processes this new bit of information, "'Purple moon,' you say? Fascinating! Tell me, when is sundown? I'd love to examine this myself before I confirm my theory. Ah," he starts as he realized how callous that sounded, "Don't worry too much, miss. I'm fairly certain that what's happening is because whatever spell is being cast at the ruins across from here."

The same woman looked like she bit into a lemon before speaking again, "W-well, could you go stop whatever it is that's happening to us please?"

Rubick straightened his back as he fully focused on the half-Satyr, "Why would I do that? Now that that you know your true nature it should be a simple matter to go about your daily business. All you have to do is remind yourself the human flesh you see in the mirror, is all in your head." Naturally, this did very little to assuage the worries of the townsfolk.

"Please sir, no word has reached of our request being accepted, hoga hoga! We just want whatever is wrong around here to stop and you're the only one here capable of helping us! We'll pay you the seven million jewel reward when you're done, plus the Golden Celestial Gate key, just please help my people, hoga!" Mocha prostrated himself before the Grand Magus.

Rubick sighed lightly before relenting, "Oh, very well. But for the record, this is a valuable opportunity to study how large-scale magic residue affects demonkind that you're throwing away. Oh, imagine the possibilities!" he lamented momentarily before rising to his feet with the help of his dad's staff. "Keep those-, what did you call them, jewels?" A nod is his answer, "-jewels at the ready, I'll be back before-"

"Excu~se u~s! Could you please open the gate?!" a feminine voice is faintly heard yelling from what could be reasonably assumed to be on the other side of the gate. Guards 1 and 2 both sprinted as if their lives depended on one beating the other in a race.

"You know, for a cursed island, getting some visitors is quite the good sign. Maybe you can get some income via tourism? And how interesting they'd be mages too! If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go and scope out the competition," immediately after that, Rubick chain-Blinked his way atop the ramparts, to the despair of both guards who still hadn't made it there yet and the wonder of the villagers.

The Grand Magus stuck out his masked head, startling the blonde with a nice rack and her pink-haired friend, plus the blue, winged cat. The bare chested scrawny one with black hair raised an eyebrow at the sudden and strange appearance of the black and green masked fellow, "Uh, hello there! We're from the guild Fairy Tail and we're here about the request!" The blonde one started out unsure then picked up confidence with the momentum.

"R~equest, hm~? Well you'll have to ask the mayor about it, I was just on my way out," with that, Rubick Blinked down to ground level, putting the half naked guy and pinkie on guard as the blonde toppled over in surprise, being as vocal as she was revealing her panties to the Grand Magus.

Unimpressed by both their overall presence and the show blondie gave him, he made to walk on as an exuberant male voice spoke out, "Hey, you're fast!" He approached Rubick with a grin, sniffing him a bit, "You smell way different from the island, plus your magic absolutely reeks!"

If one could see Rubick's actual face, they couldn't help but feel like they did something stupid, with the way he looked so condescending right now.

"I'm Natsu! This is Happy!" The now named Natsu greted with a wide, fang revealing grin and a small tongue of fire leaking through his teeth for an instant which the Magus noticed.

"Yo!" Happy made himself known, copying the general gesture of his best friend Natsu.

"The dumbass without a shirt is Gray, and th-" a headbutt from said dumbass stopped the Dragonslayer short.

"Lookit that, the pot's callin' the kettle black, huh?!" The ice sculptor growled out angrily.

"The hell's that even mean, dumbass?" Natsu half-shouted at his ice-based rival, butting heads with him (Yaoi fangirls and the occasional boy, keep your estrogen levels down).

"It means you're a dumbass too, ya dumbass!"

The two now quarreling duo were being circled by an encouraging Happy as they went down the only path now available to them: (UMK3 sfx) "Round 1. FIGHT!"

Rubick watched the duelling Fairies with rapt mundane attention, keeping his magical analysis to himself so as to not be possibly perceived as having hostile intentions, noting the overall freedom both mages fought with. Gray's Ice Make is pretty much fuelled by the imagination and the amount of mana poured into the creations, while the Fire Dragonslaying magic seemed fairly straightforward but deceptively hot; Rubick notes the colour of the flames is a bright yellow-ish orange at the core with the tips of the flames being a vibrant red, implying a lower temperature than what he felt when he allowed a stray blast to get close.

He was interrupted from further analysis by the only unnamed member of the party of four approaching to introduce herself, "Don't mind those idiots, they'll tire out eventually. I'm Lucy, mage of Fairy Tail!" she said as she extended a hand.

With a roll of the 'R' and a firm handshake, the Grand Magus responded with, "R~ubick, the Grand Magus."

Lucy blinked, "That sounds like an important title. Do you work for the government then?"

"No. It was my title bestowed upon me by the Hidden Council, after I assumed a seat upon the Insubstantial Eleven. What I did for the title, well, let's just say I'm the best at what I do and it worked out," Rubick shamelessly withheld the details of the uncounted duels to the death with other Magi he went through to gain his position.

Lucy giggled lightly at her own joke she was about to tell, "With names like 'Insubstantial' and 'Hidden,' no wonder I've never heard of such organizations. Is that what your guild and their strongest mages are called then?"

Rubick tilted his head in mild thought before answering, "Yes. The Hidden Council is the guild to end all guilds where I came from and the Insubstantial Eleven were their wisest and most powerful members. I have taken a long leave of absense to venture out into the world in search of knowledge and wisdom..." he informed Lucy.

The Heartfilia heir nodded at that, "I see. Where would you be heading now?"

"I'm making my way to those ruins on the other side of the island. Mayhaps I could find an ancient manuscript or something along that nature? Just think of the possibilities!" The cape and mask wearing Magus shows his scholarly side as he sounds absolutely delighted at the thought of essentially gravedigging, "If you'll excuse me Lucy, I'd best be off," not waiting for a response, he Blinkstrikes to Natsu, who had just been blown back by an Ice Make: Cannon then regular chain-Blinks on his merry way.

The pink-haired flame eater is momentarily confused as to why it felt as if someone was just behind him, especially when he peeked back to see only a near completely faded away streak of red light in the distance. It was as Natsu was distracted did Gray make like a professional baseball player and tried to hit a home-run with his Ice Make: Hammer. Thankfully, Natus's uncanny battle instinct warned him of impending doom and he dashed forward while ducking to dodge the shaft-

~insert Yaoi joke here~

Rubick leaned on his staff as he drank in the sight of the ruins and the much heavier magical presence all around the area. "So, guess I owe myself two thousand gold, or jewels. Actually thinking back on that, is this universe using a barter system rather than currency? Or is the currency merely named 'Jewels?'" The Grand Magus shakes his head of such thoughts before continuing to speak to himself, "Questions for another time. Now, let's see inside these ruins!"

The faint pitter-patter of his boots and the much louder clanking of the butt of his staff impacting upon the stone floor echoed throughout the ruins. As Rubick arrives at what he believes to be the antechamber, he runs a little mana through the Aether Lens atop his modified Aghanim's Scepter to act as his light in the darkness. Aside from the tribal-esque carvings on the pillars by the entrance and the occasional crescent moon markings all around the walls and the occasional shattered pillar, there wasn't much to be learned by mundane observation.

But his analysis of magical energies? Not much to be gained there either, aside for a confirmation of the spell being conducted here being a dispelling ritual. If he wishes to learn more about it, he would need to locate and examine the main Formalcraft circle. He also noticed the precense of about a few dozen or so people with magical capabilities. It's almost a certainty the unknown group is behind the dispelling ritual.

"Well, my questions won't answer themselves! If they did, that'd be terribly boring," He sing-sang the first part, then speaking normally for the second sentence. He ventured further into the ruins, pretending not to notice a small group stalking his every move as he occasionally paused to examine another batch of carvings or just to take in the general view of the latest room he finds himself in.

It takes him a short while but the Grand Magus finally finds the opening that would allow the moonlight to shine down onto whatever was at the bottom. Rubick sticks his head into the circle cut into the stone floor to see what looks like a giant hunk of slowly melting ice. He tilts his head, curiosity getting the better of him as he begins to descend floors with his various Blinks.

It was after a short while examining Deilora trapped within the ice did his stalkers finally reveal themselves, "Oh? What a strange outfit. And a staff? How cliché," a feminine voice sounded behind him as Rubick pretended to have just noticed the three of them. A dog person, some guy with utterly ridiculous hair and a grown woman wearing clothing in gothic lolita style while most notably _not_ being a lolita greets him. "Who are you and why have you come here?"

Rubick remains silent for a moment, sizing them up before turning around and appraising the much more interesting Deliora without answering. As he counts a few seconds down, he prepares to cast Torrent underneath himself.

"Tch, disrespectful whelp! Toby! Sic 'em!" Commanded the gothic dressed one.

"O~ohn!" was the battle-cry of the dog person named Toby as he launches himself at the Grand Magus. As soon as he was about to reach him, Rubick Blinks behind Deliora to hide himself as Toby crashes into the block of ice, stunning himself as the tell-tale water building up underneath him signifying a Torrent about to burst forth.

As Toby was shaking himself, a geyser of water burst forth from underneath him, launching him into the air to his surprise and the shock of his two partners. Rubick Blinked into the air next to the dog person, as the water splashed down and flowed about the crevices in the bedrock and towards the other two, forcing them to dodge or get swept in the water's flow. Rubick placed a hand upon Toby's head and muttered, "Enchant Remnant." Near instantly, Toby was petrified, frozen with his arms flailing about and panic etched in his face. As he crashed down below, Rubick cocked back his staff like a baseball bat and swung, "Boulder Smash." Like a square of butter on a hot pan, Toby smoothly glided towards and collided into the remaining pair, too shocked by the lightning fast spellwork of different elemental styles by the single Magus who stood before them. As Toby flew towards them, Rubick's hand had his signature green energy swirl once around it before it turned into a light purple electrical energy, signifying his next prepared spell, "Electro Magnetic Pulse." A floating sphere of electrical energy hissed loudly, similar to a bomb's fuse burning down as it slowly drew into itself. As the remaining duo turned and appraised the electrical attack, Toby collided into them, both of his flailing arms thudding into their torsos and launching them back, the petrified dog-man's stone shell detonating and acting as shrapnel, further damaging the other two. As they flew and impacted into the stone wall behind them, EMP detonated as well, the electricity burning their mana and even further damaging the lot of them.

In less than five seconds, Rubick had knocked out the opposition and he hadn't walked a single step from his starting position (meant literally, Blinks don't count as steps). He approached the fallen trio and looked down upon them with disdain, " **THAT** was your best?" he asked, a sneer apparent in his voice. He sighed at the utter lack of challenge they provided and turned around to appraise Deliora once again. "Now, what would anyone have to gain from thawing out this behemoth's corpse? I doubt it's to give it a proper burial...Mayhaps they believe it's still alive and wish to slay it personally?" The eccentric Magus mused to himself, "Well, let's test this ice. If the lack of any puddles around it, before my Torrent wet the ground of course, is an accurate hint, either it was just removed from cold storage and was placed here very recently, or it's not natural ice. I **do** sense some magical energy around it, but it's so muddled with the few spells I had to cast and the vast dispelling run-off, so I'm not quite sure..."

He shakes himself out of his reverie as he casts Harlek's Incantation of Incineration and Light Strike Array both on Deliora's arctic tomb. He steps back a bit as both fire spells struck, half-expecting a sudden gush of boiling water, or at least a hint of steam but aside from the flash-heating of the room they were in, nothing happened.

"No fire spells will work on that ice, you know." An armoured and masked man says from behind Rubick, having finished checking on the condition of his underlings. "Iced Shell isn't like any ice magic you've seen before."

"Really?" The interest is apparent in the Grand Magus's tone of voice, "Sounds fascinating! I wonder whom cast the spell, I'd love to learn it."

"My teacher cast that spell, and she's dead. Her life was the price for casting it," the metal-masked man stated dryly.

"Ah, a shame. Their work is very good, Sun Strike is amongst my hottest spells and not a drop melted," he paused for effect, "Now, is this the part where you try to defeat me in the name of revenge for your fallen comrades? I'm fairly certain I didn't kill them, unless they were **that** weak. Really, they don't make hired muscle like they used to..." he trailed off, his mind going off on a tangent.

Metalface used the distraction of his opponent to start things off in his favour, "Ice Make: Eagle!" he shouted with a single handed extended to aim the ice birds towards the black with green trim coloured Magus.

Rubick raised and aimed his staff at the nearest living ice statue and for the first time since the story started, deigned to use a spell of his own design: "Fade Bolt." His signature green energy took a fraction of a second to build up before it released as an arcane beam, which struck the first ice eagle and bounced from bird to bird, destroying them all in quick succession.

The Grand Magus then, in total defiance of Metalface's expectations, didn't move or cast another spell in retaliation; he merely stood there, watching him. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Metalface threw out a ground-based ice shard attack, the frozen water flowing towards him and slowly growing in size, the sharp ends promising a gruesome death.

Rubick lazily raised his free hand, which had a circlet of his green energy then turn into a short stream of fire. This was the only pre-emptive sign he was about to cast another spell, "Dragon Slave." A wide, almost cone-shaped burst of fire flew out from his palm, the center of the fire taking the outline of a dragon in flight, easily melting his opponent's ice shards, steam billowing, rising and dissipating quickly. The residual heat, since the fire spell was aimed at his general direction, washed over Metalface, making him feel very uncomfortable under his armour. Metalface de-metaled his face and shouted, "My name is Lyon Vastia, star pupil of the deceased Ur. Name yourself, so I may know who it is I must defeat for the sake of my plans."

The masked Magus chuckled freely at his enemy's choice of words before answering, "R~ubick, the Grand Magus."

Without further ado, Lyon threw another barrage of Ice Make: Eagle, this time charging more mana into the spell, increasing the amount of eagles created, as well as their speed. While he did this, he kept his mana flowing as he dashed to the side, preparing another spell, "Ice Make: Dragon!"

As Rubick dispatched the birds with a Chain Lightning, one of Zues's* own and of a Satyr's creation, he turned slightly to face the incoming serpentine form rushing at him with its icy jaws wide open and ready to devour him. Once he was sure the frosty lizard fully blocked him from Lyon's point of view, the Magus made use of Shukuchi to slip between time streams, vanishing from sight and repositioning himself to Lyon's left.

As the Dragon struck the ground in an explosion of sharp icy shards flying everywhere, he began the stereotypical lording his victory over his enemy's head until he caught sight of Rubick with his peripherals, lounging lazily on a fallen pillar, "Oh, were you finished?" the Grand Magus asked casually, already disinterested with their 'duel,' "My turn now!"

To start with, Rubick cast Spell Steal upon Lyon, a green haze surrounding the Ice Maker then rushing towards the spell thief, in a style reminiscent of Sh*ng Ts*ng stealing a soul from someone. As the haze entered Rubick's body, he muttered to himself, "So _that's_ how it's done..." Lyon raised a hand and opened his mouth in order to create another dynamic ice animal but before he could do so, the Grand Magus Blinked forward and, with his free hand glowing with his green energy, used another Rubick original, Telekinetic Lift, "Up!..." he made use of Torrent once again, directing the spell with his staff, to make his follow-up spell more effective due to the interactions between their elements, "...and down..." The remaining mana in the spell threw Lyon down harshly into the ground, impacting on the stone floor as the bubbling of water underneath him reached its peak and launched him into the air once more, "...and up!..." and to finish, the Ice Maker was blasted down into the ground by a Lightning Bolt of the God of Lightning's own arsenal, his soaked clothing and metal armour keeping the current live much longer than it should've lasted, further electrocuting the ice-based mage.

Rubick approached his fallen enemy, casting the delayed spell Last Word as he walked closer. The clunking of his staff on the stone floor caused the still conscious Lyon to turn around and glare at his enemy, "Y-you think you've won?" Lyon spat through the blood in his mouth.

"No. I know I have," Rubick retorted.

"Impudent bastard! I'll-" no further sounds escaped his mouth, as the burst of arcane energy caused from Last Word finally detonating erupted around him in a white glow with a light blue aura at the edges, forcing him to writhe on the ground in agony, a silent scream of his anguish for none to hear.

"A~h, much better. That bastard Nortrom's spells come in handy against any mouthy enemy," the Grand Magus watched attentively, as Lyon rose to his knees and tried two-handed Ice Making in his rage but nothing happened, to his silent horror. "So, Silences work here as they do at home. Interesting..."

Rubick dismissed Lyon as a threat, applying Dragonus's Ancient Seal on him to maintain the Silence before he started Blinking up the various floors of the ruined tower they were underneath. In a matter of seconds, the Grand Magus reached the roof where the Formalcraft circle was located. His sudden appearance startled the random gathering of cultists Lyon had enlisted to assist in the casting of Moon Drip. Rubick faced the lot of them, "Are you the ones casting this spell?" he asked as he gestured towards the runic circle surrounding the hole for moonlight to shine through.

"Who are you?! Where is Lyon-sama!?" one of the robe wearing mages stepped forward as the rest of them backed him up, the entire group taking confrontational stances.

Rubick is a very patient Magus. The extent of his patience is shown by his mastery of his signature Spell Steal; one doesn't learn how to pull off flawless mimickry of any spell on the first try wthout some trial and error when one is new to the concept, after all. However, even his patience has a limit, stretched thin as it already was by the lack of chalenges his previous 'bouts' provided. Here, these no-name goons trying to intimidate him was the last straw: With a Telekinetic Lift and a Laguna Blade on his target, he disintegrated the one who spoke up, the residual heat of the bluish-white-hot focused blast of fire causing those nearest their late comrade to catch fire, to the alarm of those unaffected and utter terror of those who had to put out the flames or remove their vestments to keep from burning to death. "The next one of you who doesn't answer with a 'yes' or 'no' gets to meet their friend in the great beyond. I will not ask a second time," he spoke slowly, lowly and clearly, causing the panicking group to whimper pathetically.

One of the front-lining cultists stepped forward and gave a quick affirmative, babbling about the technical stuff behind Moon Drip: It can only be used at night, as implied by the name. It was used by a moon worshipping tribe many ages ago, it is the ultimate dispelling spell in the world, etc. Rubick was a little let down. Even he couldn't overcome such limitations set on this magic, despite his vast mana. It was like Harlek's Incantation of Incineration, it needed a celestial body to act as its focus. All the mana in the world couldn't overcome such a restriction. The only possible way he could learn anything usable from this spell was if he could see it in action. "You, crone. Gather what's left of your group and begin to cast the spell," before they could gripe about it being mid-afternoon, Rubick made use of Balanar's false night spell, save he overcharged the unholy crap out of it with mana to make it last much longer.

"B-but sir, without Lyon to assist us and us short a few men," (some of the men who caught fire weren't dead, but incapacitated) "we won't have enough mana to make the spell run properly! We'd die trying, and it wouldn't even work!" the speaker for the group stated his case to the Grand Magus.

"Hm~...Very well," Rubick braced himself for his next spell; it was an unpleasant one to cast, even for the creator of it. "Tempest Double!" he cried out, feeling his mana and stamina decrease drastically in order to create a replica of himself. "Ugh, that one always leaves me with chills," the eccentric Magus shuddered with a hand on his knee, leaning heavily on his staff as he tried to shake off the feeling of fatigue, his vast Intelligence plus his plethora of magical items already replenishing his mana at a ridiculously fast rate. "Oh-hoh, look, it's me. Just not quite as magnificent," he quipped to his clone.

"Says the one bent over as if he's waiting for his Tauren lover to decimate his rectum," the clone mouthed off.

Beneath Rubick's mask he glared as his duplicate as it cackled madly, the remaining entourage of cultists collectively sweatdropping. "Cut the crap, me. I've got a job to do, so shut up and get to it," the original Rubick said aloud, despite the mental connection between the two, so as to not give away technical information on one of his most useful spells; the ability to create a duplicate of oneself who can be commanded mentally, that on top of that also has every spell he stole available to him? The phrase wombo-combo comes to mind.

"Whatever. Not like I'm going to live long anyway," the clone commented before going to do as he was told.

"Now," the original Magus straightened himself, directing his attention to the lead goon, "you and your troupe of untalented no-names, get to showing me this spell. And make it snappy, before some other silly interruption rears its ugly head."

Said goon bowed and quickly fired off directions through the few protests of his men, the lot of them forming a circle within the runic circle which encircled a circular hole. In the distance, a foghorn blared, ignored by everyone, although whom blew it at such spectacular timing and how it was made is to remain a mystery.

Just as they began chanting in the strange language required to run Moon Drip (Clone Rubick used Spell Steal to learn the lines before joining in), a vaguely familiar male voice yelled at the top of his lungs while expelling his trademarked fire through his mouth, which raises the question as to how he could yell and spew flames at the same time, "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"Oh, for the love of Gods..." Rubick moaned as he slid a palm down his masked face. He turned to see the previous group of Fairies, who seem to have grown in number. As he turned around, he kept his free hand to his back, casting Spell Steal on the now fully operational Moon Drip with his latest hindrances none the wiser.

Natsu isn't the type of guy to be pissed off for a silly reason. It takes something serious, like threatening one of his nakama, keeping him from eating or generally acting like a collosal douchebag. This would lead one to wonder what Rubick did to incite such ire from the normally jovial Dragonslayer. It was as Gray hobbled into the Grand Magus's line of sight, dragging the near-corpse of Lyon with him did the dots connect for the black and green vested Magus.

"Why the hell are you trying to free Deliora?! Think about what you're doing!" Gray yelled at the masked Magus.

"I'd tell you this Deliora, whom I'm assuming is the demon entrapped in the hunk of ice below us, is dead and how you should follow your own advice, but something tells me I'd be wasting my breath," Rubick said back, magically amplifying his own voice to be heard from the distance, past the chanting and low magical hum of energy behind him.

"Don't listen to him, Gray! You and I both know Iced Shell is meant to be a seal, not a spell meant to kill! He's lying!" Lyon slipped venom into the Fairies' ears, as the second addition to the Fairy Tail group stepped forward with her signature scarlet hair billowing behind her heroically.

"I've heard enough. Stop the ritual now, or face the wrath of Fairy Tail!" the armoured red-head shouted at Rubick.

The whole while, the Tempest Double replica heard the whole exchange and ditched the cultists (not before using Chakra magic and his Refresher Orb to give a pair of them massive mana steroids to keep the spell running without them) and made the long way around the ruined tower, positioning himself to flank the group and awaited his creator's orders. The clone opened the mental link to the original, _'I am in position to flank them. What's the plan?'_

 _'I'll use Claws of Tornarus as a set-up, you come in and Vaccum them into a cluster while I set up Torrent underneath them. After that, I'll get right in the middle of them and channel Requiem of Souls while you place an EMP. Afterwards I'll Blink out and Deafening Blast them. That red-head is loads better than the lot of them, I don't think I can afford to show mercy. It may kill the rest of them, but the life of a Magus is wrought with danger. If they're any kind of competent, they'd know the stakes of a Magus's life,'_ he instructed his replica on the battle plan.

 _'Confirmed. Go when ready.'_

"H~m. How about no?" and as soon as he finished talking, Rubick Blinked forward and cast Tornado at them, much closer than he would've originally, drastically reducing the room for reaction from the group.

Erza lived up to her S-rank Mage status and dashed to the side as her entire entourage (sans Happy, he was distant enough to get away, never mind the fact the magical winds gave him an unwanted updraft and blew him a short distance away) was lifted into the air by the vicious wind spell, their various yells and the single effeminate scream going unheard due to the wind's fierce howl. Replica Rubick noticed the red-head get away from the initiating spell and changed the game-plan on the fly, as his creator would delay the armoured woman from interfering with his spell weaving. He prepared Torrent underneath them, casting Vaccum as the group was descending as the winds died down. Vaccum caused the lot of them to crash into themselves, temporarily stunning them as an EMP was formed above them, it's timer ticking down. Torrent unleashed its rising pillar of water, once again launching the entourage skyward as EMP detonated, using elemental synergy to further damage the lot of them.

For Natsu, it was game-over when Tornado struck, as the infamous motion sickness all Dragonslayers are afflicted with struck with full force. For Gray and Lyon, they were K.O.'d by EMP's amplified damage due to Torrent soaking them to the bone. Lucy luckily was at the back of the group and actually wound up avoiding being Vaccumed into the majority of the combo, as Tornado when it reaches the end of its range doesn't launch foes skyward, but pushes them back. Nevertheless, the wind spell kept her aloft enough for EMP to do its mana burning magic, not as strongly as the rest of them suffered, but enough for her weaker endurance to succumb, putting her out of commission as well.

Erza watched this all happen, pale-faced. _That was unbelievable fast spellwork. And is that a spell-casting replica?! This is_ _ **not**_ _good._ A fierce scowl marred her beautiful face, glaring a hole through the original Rubick.

"Well, looks like they're out. Hopefully that Lyon fellow **stays** down this time. Maybe I should make sure to finish the job this time, hm?" Rubick said casually, in contrast with the dark meaning behind his words.

Erza Scarlet's teeth were grinding together in her mouth, as she Ex-quipped her favourite broadsword, "Over my dead body!" she shouted her challenge, flourishing her blade in anticipation of the battle to come.

Rubick didn't answer immediately, deigning to Spell Steal Re-quip, Erza caught flat-footed by the spell originating right on her as opposed to starting from his staff or free hand, although it did nothing harmful or debilitating in anyway as she tested her movement and felt no diference, "He-heh, guess I know how to summon the Scythe of Vyse now," he said to himself jovially. He channelled a steady stream of mana into Shiva's Guard, the pauldrons forming a circle of hoarfrost around him at an approximate six meter radius as the ground within was coated in a thin sheet of ice, signifying the absurdly cold aura effect of the magical armour piece. Rubick's replica moved behind him and to his left, his own Shiva's Guard active, "Now, I do hope you'll be a better challenge than they will. Try your best!" The original Magus said brightly, despite the heavy atmosphere around them.

~Rubick vs. Erza~

Erza secured her broadsword in a two-handed grip before charging at the duo of identical Maguses, a battle-cry emanating from her full lips loudly. Since the original Rubick was the closest, he was naturally the target she went after first. With a diagonal downward slash, Erza's broadsword went right through the sickly green-glowing Magus, "What?!" she exclaimed in surprise as she swung her sword in a left horizontal slash then lunged right through his heart, still hitting nothing.

"I see~... Even if it was summoned by magic, that blade is still a mundane object. Interesting..." Rubick mused to himself as he Blinked away, since Ghost Scepter's ethereal effect wore off.

 _He can render himself immume to physical attacks?! What the hell_ _ **isn't**_ _this guy capable of!?_ Erza thought in frustration, her scowl deepening slightly as she Re-quipped into the Heaven's Wheel Armour, a set of seven broadswords much like her favoured blade floating via telekinesis behind her.

"Ho-hoh, doesn't _that_ armour set show some cleavage off. Not that I care, mind you, just an observation. Now-," with a summoning of a flagon of beer via Drunken Haze, Rubick lifted his mask far enough to reveal his mouth and by extension, his chin. He downed the flagon in one chug, discarding the empty container which dispelled itself into mana mist like an illusion would mid-air, burping loudly afterwards. The Grand Magus then began to sway in place, even going so far as to stumble but catch himself with the help of his grounded staff, clearly inebriated, "-show me what you can do." He made a come-hither gesture with his free hand lazily as he hiccupped.

Erza's temper would start matching her hair colour, as the lack of any serious atmosphere coming from her opponent would incite anger from nearly any cool-headed person. It was due to this, Titania would summon a few dozen more blades and have them encircle her while spinning rapidly. After they picked up a fair bit of speed, she had the spinning wheel of blades keep spinning, only without her as the center point before shouting, **"Dance, my blades! Circle Sword!"** The disc of broadswords spun even faster in a blur as they launched themselves at the Grand Magus with startling speed.

As the whirling steel not-B*ybl*d* of death approached, when it got rather close to him, Rubick once again Blinked forward to avoid the attack entirely, using Spell Steal once again on Erza, learning her latest move. "A~h, someone else who can use telekinesis. Fascinating! Although, you use a wondrous ability in such a bo~ring-," he hiccups again before continuing, "-manner. Here, let me show yo-" a thundering crash of steel on stone sounded out, announcing the Circle Sword having struck the floor, causing a minor cave-in of the roof. After impact, the various blades split and rocketed towards him like silver homing missles. Rubick grinned underneath his mask, "Mu~ch better!" He praised his opponent, to her mild confusion.

Since the blades' launching points were their relative positions in the circle, they were spaced out slightly, with a fraction of a second between each pair of blades. The Grand Magus felt emboldened by the alcohol he consumed and decided on the mundane way of dodging them. Erza, seeing her enemy hold still, moved forward to also throw in her dual blades into the mix but the replica of Rubick blocked her way, throwing one of Zues's Lightning Bolts into her path, which she dodged.

The original Rubick was drunkenly swaying with startling speed and agility, occasionally deflecting a broadsword that flew too close to home with his staff. Each blade after either missing or being deflected would fall to the ground and remain there, unmoving. "He-heh, that was fun. I can see why Mangix always got drunk before-, hic, -before a fight now."

Erza managed to keep close to the replica Magus, forcing him to block blows two-handed with his staff while he fired off what spells he could in between strikes. Unfortunately, since he couldn't free a hand to cast through, he had no choice but to use the Aether Lens at the end of Aghanim's Scepter as his spell foci. Due to his forced melee, there were _very_ few spells he could get off at such extremely close range that weren't overkill and would possibly destroy the tower, never mind the fact there were even less he could use that wouldn't damage himself as well. "Fade Bolt!" His squiggly line-based arcane blast fired at Erza, missing by a hair and singing the stones under foot. This was a poorly timed attack, as Titania managed to impale him upon one of her blades by the opening created, causing the replica to decompose into raw mana and then mana mist, dispersing harmlessly.

"Oh, how tragic. I'm dead! I'd drink another beer in honour of my passing, but I also live, he-heh!" Rubick joked, his alcoholic buzz slowly wearing off.

Erza telekinetically lifted the fallen blades on the floor, once again making the pseudo-halo of steel behind her, all the while glaring at Rubick, "Take this fight seriously, damn you! Whether that was the real you or not, I would've impaled you upon my steel!"

"'Take this fight seriously?' My, my, what bold words. Mayhaps I should make use of your suggestion, hm?" The Grand Magus said ominously, head tilted slightly as he examined Fairy Tail's finest female mage before vanishing entirely from sight with use of Shukuchi. Erza tensed in anticipation of some attack, whirling her head left and right in an attempt to catch sight of the eccentric Magus. "Earth Spike," said the unique Magus's voice behind her. Titania whirled around, blades held up at the ready in a two-handed stance as the halo of steel behind her aimed their business ends as one at the point of origin of the voice. She caught sight of a group of stalagmites rushing forward in a straight line, set to impale her. Erza made a cross-guard with her blade, blocking the blow but was forced to skid back a few meters from the strength of the spell. "Dragon Slave," called out a dual-toned voice to her left. This time she caught sight of the Magus, just barely as he once again vanished from sight near immediately, as there was a fraction of a second of fade-time in his invisibility ability that she now noticed. The long tongue of flame rushed at her, the outline of a dragon in flight within the flames unseen as one needs a higher point of view to catch it amidst all the fire. This time, Titania leaped forward, over the Earth Spikes she just blocked, heels almost being licked by the very edges of the dragonic fire.

Erza knew upon landing, Rubick would be waiting with another spell, ready to go. So, mid-jump, she Re-quipped into her Black Wing Armour, taking flight while simultaneously avoiding an icy blast of wind from a spell called Crystal Nova.

"Oh-hoh, you can fly? Interesting...This poses the question, how heavy **is** that armour, and how much mana does it drain to keep itself and you aloft? Granted, you're rather slender, so by my estimate you can't weigh more than seventy kilos, but..." Underneath the mask, Rubick's eyes widened as his danger instinct honed from fighting in the Ancient's time loop screamed at him, causing him to Blink away, and not a moment too soon; the various swords summoned by Erza had shish-kebob'd his former position via her own telekinesis, strong enough to pierce the stone roof clean through.

"Ah-ha, offended you at the mention of your weight, did I?" Rubick guessed in a teasing tone, also in the sky as he rode his staff like a witch's broomstick to Erza's right and slightly above her.

Titania's frown didn't move a centimeter, "Why would I care about you mentioning my weight?" She asked honestly.

The Grand Magus tilted his head left and right, taking the lull in the battle to ponder her simple question, "How curious. You're not like other women, are you? What a breath of fresh air you are! I've decided then. I won't kill you," he then grinned dauntlessly, unseen to the world. "However that won't stop me from defeating you."

Titania raised the scimitar that comes with Black Wing Armour, the hilt and crossguard matching the darker colour scheme of her armour and flourished it in an impressive show of dexterity, "You can try! But I won't lose!" She jettisoned herself right at the Magus, seen as a black blur with an accent of red, signifying her fiery hair.

Rubick spurred his staff with his heels, "Giddy-up!" he barked and took off like a bat flying out of the seven Hells. Erza gave chase doggedly, keeping right on his figurative heels, impressing the Grand Magus that she could keep up with his speed. Deciding to make this more fun for his opponent, he began slinging what spells he could remember off the top of his head willy-nilly, essentially making a lethal, arcane obstacle course for Titania to fly through.

A Lightning Bolt was dodged with a barrel-roll while another Dragon Slave was avoided with a sudden dip in altitude. A Light Strike Array managed to clip Erza's left wing, but the armour was relatively unscathed, save for the scorch mark at the wing tip. Rubick turned around fully on his staff, riding facing backwards and around the island now, as at their speed would've taken them well away from the sole landmass in sight, to unknown territory (at least for him). He used his now free second hand to cast more powerful spells, such as this one, "Ice Blast." He stopped the tracer round quickly, as he needed the close-ranged but small near Absolute-Zero attack. A ball of frost, leaving behind a frigid trail, escaped from the palms of both hands, before detonating in a shower of tiny ice shards. Erza saw this coming, as the short-ranged variation of this spell was rather slow as well. She banked to the right and avoided the attack entirely, although the residual cold wind buffeted her, sending shivers coursing through her body.

"Claws of Tornarus!" A larger, faster version of this spell that has yet to be seen launched from underneath the Magus's cape, the chaotic wind spell flying towards Titania. While Erza once again dodged the brunt of the magic attack, the fiercer winds than normal buffeted her, throwing her off her intercept course with the Magus, as the remnant of the winds caught under her wings.

With a quick folding and re-deploying of the wings, Erza managed to straighten herself again, lest she lose full control of her flight. Due to the short yet dizzying session of spinning about, Titania lost sight of Rubick, which made her extremely wary: The Magus had already proven incredibly and frustratingly elusive with absurd mobility, ranging from teleportation, to flight and invisibility, who knows what else he had in his seemingly endless bag of tricks?

Erza felt a hand place itself atop her crown, "Enchant Remnant." To her credit, her reaction was swift, angling her scimitar to vivisect who she knew to be Rubick without even looking. Her blade stopped short millimeters due to her arm being petrified from the Grand Magus's waist, to his relief and down Titania plummeted like a stone. Rubick gave chase, keeping pace with the statue formerly known as Erza Scarlet, humming a tune under his breath known only to him. After a few more seconds of free-fall, Titania broke free of the lesser petrification spell with a yell, to his surprise. _I already knew she was no garden-variety Magus, but I poured quite a bit of mana into that spell. What fun!_ Rubick thought in delight, narrowly dodging a vertical slash as Erza re-deployed her Black Wing Armour's wings.

The Grand Magus landed in some clearing within Galuna Island's jungle, Erza doing so as well across for him. As Rubick adjusted to being on land again, Erza Re-quipped to her favoured Heart Kreuz armour, also taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow. It was as this happened did the Magus also note his heavier than normal breathing.

 _Using the Black Wing's flight for so long put a dent in my mana pool, but that guy has to feel the drain too. Still, I've got to finish this fight fast, neither of us really landed a good hit, and that petrification spell didn't hurt me, aside from my pride,_ Erza thought, her breathing coming back under control.

"You know, you're pretty good," Rubick complimented out of left-field.

Titania looked taken aback, but said nothing, Re-quipping yet another broadsword in anticipation of the battle's continuation.

"I've seen what you can do on the defensive end well enough, I think. How about you come and show me your bladework? I promise I won't run around. Or at least, not as fast as before," the Grand Magus goaded the Knight on, confidence aplenty.

"What arrogance," Erza said with a hint of a sneer in her voice, although her face kept cool and focused. She Re-quipped a second broadsword and tossed it to the ground mid-way, "If you've skill with a blade, take it. I'll enjoy paying you back for all the pain you've caused my nakama."

"Ah, if it's no trouble, you wouldn't happen to have a short katana in your inventory, would you? Now, what did Yurnero call those again? A ni-, ni-...ah yes! A ninjato!" Rubick exclaimed once he recalled the shorter blade's name.

Normally Erza wouldn't bother acquiesing to such a request from an enemy. However, despite his apparent lack of care with his slinging of all sorts of elemental spells at her, she couldn't for the life of her sense any malicious intent. The entirety of their fight felt like some big test Rubick was conducting on her. She was still upset the Magus had harmed her nakama, but they clearly weren't a match for him anyway; this was an S-class Magus battle, there was no room for her fellow guild members here, unfortunately. Despite her ire at the Grand Magus, she couldn't find it in her to hate him. That wouldn't stop her from slicing him to ribbons though.

Titania wordlessly shifted to her black pants with flames at the ends of the pant legs and the bandage wrap around her bountiful breasts, dual full-length katanas in hands. She recalled the unneeded broadsword and tossed a katana to mid-way in its place before speaking, "I've no ninjatos, just full length katanas. You'll have to make due."

Rubick Blinked to the blade, Blinked back back but not as far as his original position, rotating the blade about, examining the craftsmanship as he gave it a few test swings. He nodded to himself slowly, Blinking back again to bury his staff butt-first into the dirt, leaving Aghanim's as the silent witness to the ensuing duel, "Well, the sword forms Yunero taught me were for the shorter ninjato...But what kind of Magus would I be if I couldn't adjust to odd circumstances on the fly?" He took a two-handed grip on the weapon as Erza did the same, the pre-fight tension once again palpable in the air, "Now then, shall we continue?" He also wordlessly activated Medusa's Mana Shield, rightfully anticipating he'd take a few blows. The faint blue glow of the magic barrier formed like a second skin around him, the only reason it was noticable to Erza was due to his primary colour being black, which made the faint blue stick out somewhat.

Erza didn't answer verbally, opting instead to just rush at Rubick in a blur, identifiable only by the red streak of her hair. The two Magi clashed blades, the clang of metal almost as loud as a high-powered rifle's gun shot, sparks flying on impact.

Now, one might question Rubick's decision to clash steel against an obviously practiced swordswoman when his profession of choice was of the magical variety. Sure, Yunero had, in the lulls between battles, shown the Magus his sword forms and even sparred with him with the assistance of practice swords made from the wood of the Treant Protector, Rooftrellen. The Magus's ability to learn quickly was put to good use and he became at least capable with a blade, but Erza had wielded a blade since even before discovering her talent for magic. Plus, one doesn't reach S-class Mage status by being bad at combat, hells, combat skill pretty much defines S-class Mages. So why throw away his preferred fighting style in a seeming fit of arrogance?

That's because he's a man who embraces the true nature of a scholar. He would stride boldly forward for the sake of sating his curiosity, and he would do so with a spring in his step and the light of life shining brightly in his eyes until someone or something finally snuffs it out. The question of whether he'd survive a sword duel with who he believes to be a master swordswoman came to mind, and this left him with little choice, as he had only one way to find out.

Erza swung diagonally to the left and down, hoping to make quick work of the Magus by cutting him down with a powerful blow early. Her strike would garner unexpected results, as Shiva's Guard underneath the Magus's hood withstood the slash easily. The ice-enchancted pauldrons also covered her in a layer of frost in an instant, shocking her with the sudden cold and slowing her movements down some. Rubick countered with an overhead vertical strike, as he had counted on Shiva's Guard and his Mana Shield to cover him. Titania shattered the frost layer with a brief flare of her magical power, then easily swayed away from the slash, not without having a few strands of her fiery hair cut short. Erza then tried a rising slash, aiming to slice him in twain from his junk as it was unlikely he'd have **that** armoured as well. Rubick barely deflected it away in time, as Titania's superiour speed came to play. Even deflecting the blow, his arms rattled a little at the gargantuan strength behind the blow, _I cannot take a blow head-on, even to block. My lack of physical prowess won't stand up to her blows. It's like facing Sven, except she's so much faster than the Rogue Knight is..._ Rubick thought to himself as he Blinked back.

The Grand Magus revised his battle-plan, deciding his utility-based spells would come in handy here. "Gaster's Mandate of Impetuous Strife!" An almost pinkish-purple swirl of what looked like wind blades appeared above his head, "Blo-," Rubick hesitated, remembering his word to not kill her. This lapse of action would give Erza enough time to close the gap and this time strike true: Titania sprinted, realizing he even had some support spells that _he could self-cast_. He had to be stopped, or even his mediocre swordsmanship could be the end of her if left to enpower himself. She went for two-handed horizontal slash, which slashed him clean around his core, despite his Alacrity buff. Mana Shield repelled some of the damage, as did the side of Veil of Discord's cape, but still both the cape and his regular outfit's fabric gave way, and he had a long but shallow gash on his right side.

Erza's eyes widened at the defensive prowess behind his barrier, _I didn't hold back on that slash, and that's all the damage I did to him? What is this man made of?!_

Rubick was also caught by surprise somewhat, _I knew this woman-, no Erza was strong, but to be able to cut me through Mana Shield, despite my absurd mana reserves shows her physical power is greater than my initial estimates!_

Titania pressed the attack, her katana being a glinting silver wisp, the likes of which lower-tier Magi couldn't even hope to catch a glimpse of. Rubick's Alacrity buff kept him on top of things, but it's duration was bound to run its course in a few seconds, which would leave the physically inferior Magus in a world of trouble. Worse still, even _with_ the buff, Rubick couldn't for the life of him find an opening to counter-attack without fear of effective and immediate retaliation from the crimsom-haired Knight. The phrase, bit off more than he could chew comes to mind.

And so, when Alacrity wore off, Rubick switched to a one-handed grip on his loaned blade as he Blinked away. Erza was surprised to see him seemingly relax and just wait there, watching her. Expecting some sort of trap, Titania didn't immediately charge in, warily glancing everywhere in hopes of catching sight of whatever devious plans the Magus could have for her. Contrary to her beliefs, Rubick had set up no such traps, merely awaiting the opportunity to re-apply Alacrity, along with a few other buffs to his person.

"Gaster's Mandate of Impe-" Rubick was interrupted mid-cast by a lunge strike to his shoulder, having forced Erza's hand to stop him from magically aiding his combat ability. With flawless timing, the Grand Magus channeled mana to his Ghost Scepter again like he did at the start of the fight, temporarily moving to the ethereal plane and rendering himself immume to physical harm. Titania recalled his sickly green form only lasting for about five seconds, and saved her energy, counting down the time remaining in her head, "-tuous Strife!" Alacrity made itself known again, and he prepared the next utility spell that came to mind, "Enfeeble!" This time, it was targetted to his enemy, marking her with a inky, shadow-like spell that hovered over her, sapping the strength from her limbs. His ghost form timer up, the Fairy Queen made to continue her whirling dervish of steel, this time her speed decreased enough where average people would barely be able to catch a blur.

This, along with the re-application of Alacrity, would even the playing field to the point where Rubick could finally throw in a counter-attack to finally even the odds. The Magus went for a shallow slash to her ribs, which Erza riposted and went for another lunge. The Grand Magus swayed away from the blow but was still struck. Mana Shield kept him from taking any damage though, much to the red-headed swordwoman's irritation. Rubick almost surprised Erza by going for a low kick, just pulling back her shin from being struck as she punched the Magus right on the nose, the damage once again being mitigated by Mana Shield. This didn't stop his nose from breaking however. Blood began pouring down his face profusely, although it was nigh unnoticeable as his black mask hardly changed colour, although the green trim was being stained crimson by his life liquid. Rubick finally landed his first blow, by using a hand to grab Erza's wrist and pull her forward and off-balance. He landed a sloppily thrown knee to her torso, which still knocked some, but not all of the wind out of her by striking the solar plexus.

Erza wound up butting heads with the Magus due to bowing with the blow to lessen the damage, which in turn hurt them both fairly equally. They both staggered away from each other a step, giving Rubick enough time to Blink away again. His free hand would raise to his face and with a sickening crack he re-aligned his nose, hoping it was set right as he hardly had the time to use a mirror and check.

"W-well done!" Rubick called to his adversary, voice keeping it's unique dual-toned sound, but sounding a little nasally this time, most likely because of his formerly broken nose, "Although, I've seen better swordsmen than you, hells, I was _taught_ by a better swordsman than you."

"I'd certainly hope he's better than you; with what you've shown me of your bladework, maybe you ought to stick to what you're best at, _Magus_ ," Erza, finally in her element of getting to hit her enemy, taunted boldly.

Rubick chuckled darkly before retorting lowly, "I am going to enjoy beating you at your own game."

Titania smirked, "How?! I am not only stronger than you, faster than you, and even with this infernal curse you placed on me, I am still running circles around your swordsmanship! What do you possibly have that can take the victory from me?!"

The Grand Magus uttered one word, "Omnislash!" In a flash of golden light, he vanished for a micro second. Then, Erza Scarlet felt a slash wound appear on her back, then another flash, then another slash wound appeared, this time on her left shoulder. Again and again, Rubick flashed about with God-like speed, the only hints he was still around being the slash wounds growing in number around Erza and the golden light that were their only warning. After a dozen slash wounds, two on her belly, one on each shoulder, three on her back, three on her chest (one freeing her bound breasts, to the indifference of the Magus) and one on each thigh, a spurt of blood jettisoned from each gash, Titania screaming her anguish, heard only by the Magus and the local wildlife.

She fell to a knee, breathing heavily and blood pouring freely from every cut. "H-how did-," she coughed, not spitting blood as her lungs were unharmed, but coughed none the less, "-you do that?! What magic was, that!?"

"Yurnero's finest technique," Rubick rumbled, flicking the blood free from his blade, "and by extension, one of _my_ finest techniques. There is no sorcer-no, _nothing_ beyond my grasp." The Grand Magus sat down, weary from the constant run of mana and the exertions of the day overall; he felt he deserved a breather. Erza tried to stand, but fell back down to a knee. After gathering his breath, Rubick summoned his staff to him with Geomagnetic Grip, then walked to Erza with both weapons in a hand each. Erza once again tried to rise, in order to defend herself but would be zero for two, and fell on her rear with a plop. Contrary to her beliefs however, Rubick did not attack; he threw the loaned blade down within her reach and with the use of voodoo magicks taught to him by both Yurnero and Zharvakko, "Healing Ward," he first summoned a tiny wood and paper ward, it glowing a very bright green light in a circle around it, replenishing both Rubick and Erza's stamina while the Aether Lens atop Aghanim's glowed a fainter, but still bright green, "Voodoo Restoration."

Erza was at a loss, "I-I don't understand. Why are you healing me too?" She asked.

Rubick tilted his head at her question, "Didn't I tell you earlier? I won't kill you, but that won't stop me from defeating you. Had I left, you would've most likely bled out and died here, unseen by any of your, so called 'nakama'. I may be a Magus of monstrous capability but that does not make me a monster. Besides, I'm a man of my word. Now, let the voodoo magicks run their course and you'll be right as rain, mostly; I can heal wounds, but your body will have to replenish its own blood naturally, I'm afraid."

Fairy Queen Titania accepted his explanation, after remembering he did in fact say he wouldn't kill her, watching herself heal at an astounding rate. She rose to her feet, a blank expression on her beautiful face before she suddenly punched Rubick, sending him to the ground in a sprawl. Expecting the Magus to respond with hostility, hence why she had both katanas in hand now, she was surprised yet again by seeing his shoulders bounce in silent laughter. She scowled, unsure of what to do: On one hand, she hurt fellow Fairy Tail members and technically defeated her, even though she was currently standing above him. On the other hand, he saved her from near certain death, as she really was losing a lot of blood.

Before she could form a proper opinion on the utterly confusing Magus, Rubick rose, brushing off his behind of grass and dirt before speaking, "Well! I don't know about you, but I had a blast! I'm going to teleport back to the village, would you like a 'port back?"

Erza, seemingly in no condition to go wandering about the wilderness for Gods know how long, reluctantly accepted his offer with a nod while also Re-quipping back to her Heart Kreuz armour. Rubick placed a hand upon her shoulder as the bright magic circle, the runes underneath both their feet glowing brightly in white, while the edge of the circles glowed a little dimmer, in the colour of his signature green. As a second, smaller circle started level with their waist, it slowly dipped down and as it reached the floor, both Magi vanished in a flash.

-~Wow that was fun to write~-

The villagers of Galuna Town were, in a word, surprised by the sudden appearance of a massive magic circle around the Mayor's home. Even more, once again in a word, surprising was the sudden appearance of a blood-soaked armour wearing woman and the Magus from before, also looking a little worse for wear.

Ignoring the villagers' collective reactions of wonder, surprise and mild shock, Erza turned to Rubick, "You know, I still don't forgive you for what you did to my nakama but...I can't find it in me to hate you. Although the next time we fight, I won't lose again," she said slowly.

The Grand Magus shrugged, "Well, it's not like I killed anyone." _Or rather, anyone you care about anyway._ "For the record, this all would've been avoided had you young heroic types just waited to listen; that demon, entrapped in ice-Deliora was his name, yes?" Erza nodded and he continued, "-He was dead. Even if Moon Drip ran long enough to thaw him out, it would've freed a corpse. Plus, that Lyon guy was the one who originally set up the ritual, with those cultists you saw behind me initially hired by him, if their first reaction were anything to go by. I was merely exploring the ruins when some other goons of his tried to rough me up just for being there. I was defending myself the whole time."

At this, Titania Re-quipped a broadsword on reflex, on the brink of starting round two in town, "Even if you fought in self-defense against Lyon and his, you attacked my nakama _first!_ Nothing you say can change that fact!"

"What, did you expect me to just wait and let you and yours get the first move? Can you tell me in all honesty, when I refused to power down Moon Drip, you would've continued to try talking it out?" Rubick retorted.

Erza growled lowly, unable to dispute his words: Natsu would've just yelled and charged in head-first, trying to punch him in the face with a fire-cloaked fist.

Before either Magus could say anything else, said hot-head yelled out, "Ah! It's that masked guy! And Erza?! Why are you covered in blood!?"

Fairy Tail's Team Natsu approached, all of them tense. They didn't know what to make of Erza's demeanour; she _was_ holding a broadsword and coated in dried blood, but wasn't attacking Rubick at relatively close range. On top of that, the Grand Magus cleaned their clocks last time without even breaking a sweat. What was the play here?

Fairy Queen Titania stepped closer to her fellow guildmates, taking command of the situation, "It's alright now. It seems we've had a bit of a misunderstanding," she said before turning to Rubick with a cool look, "This isn't over." She stated simply, as if it were a matter of fact.

"Interesting, how you took my line. Talent such as yours can only grow brighter. When you've improved your skills, come find me; I'll gladly take you on again," and with that, Rubick Blinked away, green mana sparks left in his wake, in search of Mocha to speak to him of that 'seven million Jewel' reward.

In his absence, Lucy spoke up first, "Erza...what happened to you?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face, unseen to her guild-mates as she had kept her eyes on the spot the Grand Magus had just occupied, "The same thing that happened to you...I faced the Grand Magus."

-~List of spells~-

Claws of Tornarus (AKA Tornado): a tornado is launched from around the caster in a straight line, catching everything in its path and throwing whatever caught airborne for a few seconds. It then uncerimoniously drops them to the unforgiving ground.

Harlek's Incantation of Incineration (AKA Sun Strike): After a delay, a focused ray of energy from the sun flash-vapourizes whatever is struck. Can be cast as far as the eye can see.

Torrent: After a delay, a geyser of water erupts from the cast point, throwing whatever is caught airborne.

Vaccum: A rather large spell, it sucks in whatever is caught towards its center and causes the affected foes to collide into each other like bunch of sacks of potatos. Great for setting up combos.

Enchant Remnant: Anyone in grabbing distance is flash-petrified into a Stone Remnant for a few seconds, allowing them to be used as buffers for Stone Remnant interacting spells such as Boulder Smash, Geomagnetic Grip and such. Once the timer is up, the shell of rock detonates, acting like a grenade by shooting rock shrapnel everywhere. Good initiating spell.

Tempest Double: At the cost of a hefty chunk of both mana and stamina, creates a replica of the caster capable of using every spell and every enchanted item in the caster's repertoire. Has a timed life, dependent on how much extra mana is given to its creation. Obedient to the creator, but otherwise a reflection of the caster's personality.

Last Word: After a delay, the enemy targetted will be struck by pure arcane energy that also Silences them.

Ancient Sigil: Upon cast, the target is immediately Silenced and takes amplified magic damage from the caster. Generally a giant 'Fuck you' to all magic users.

Laguna Blade: A devastating spell of blu-ish white flame, capable of turning virtually anything it strikes to ash.

Blink: There are three versions of this spell Rubick uses. Kelen's Dagger, Akasha's variation and Magina's rendition. All are exactly the same except Kelen's as it cannot be used in as quick succession due to the mana within the item replenishing slowly, and Akasha's, in the aesthetic sense: Akasha's Blink leaves behind streaks of mana that face in the direction the caster Blinks to, as opposed to the burst of mana sparks Magina's and Kelen's Dagger leaves behind.

Blinkstrike: Rubick has two of these, Mortred's and Riki's. As opposed to Blinking where the caster pleases, this spell must target someONE.

Lightning Bolt: Its name says it all.

Chain Lightning: Name once again covers it. The amount of jumps it does is limited, depending on how conductive a target is to electricity. The more conductive they are, the more energy is taken from the spell, dealing more damage to them but decreases the amount of jumps.

Deafening Blast (Buluphont's Aureal Incapacitator): Unleashes a sonic wave in front of the caster, knocking back those caught in the blast while also heavily disorienting those struck.

Telekinetic Lift: Rubick uses his telekinesis (duh) to lift someone then slams them to the ground after a short delay. A Rubick original.

Fade Bolt: Another Rubick original, like Chain Lightning it bounces dealing arcane damage to those struck, with the added effect of disorienting the target somewhat, throwing off their aim.

Requiem of Souls (unused spell): After a short channel, necromantic energies supplied by the souls of those whom had fallen to the caster burst forth in lines all around the caster. At the very center, one can be hit by every instance, causing insane damage. The black, skeletal wings that erupt from the caster's back strikes fear into the hearts of all but the mightiest challengers.

Balanar's false night (Nightstalker's ultimate): Immediately summons a false night-time. Everyone but the caster's night vision is terrible until their eyes adjust, allowing for interesting ambush possibilities.

Spell Steal: Rubick's signature spell. After years spent studying arcane energies, Rubick has learned how to break any spell down by examining the latent energies left behind. Once 'stolen,' he can cast it as he pleases.

Healing Ward: Caster summons a ward, filled with a set amount of mana to heal in an area around it. It's magic is potent, but easily stoppable by destroying the ward, which'll die to a stiff breeze.

Voodoo Rejuvenation: A much weaker version of the healing magic used by Healing Ward, but more consistent. The caster's staff is the healing implement as opposed to the ward.

Ice Blast: Initially, a tracer round is fired in the direction of the cast. It'll go as far as you let it, which in turn increases the size and speed of the spell. Once you decide to lock on an area, a ball of ice so cold it feels like you're burning when struck will fly out and explode at the location of the tracer round.

Omnislash: The user's speed nearly transcended mortal comprehension, the only signs of the attack being a golden flash (can someone say H*r**sh*n n* J*ts*?). A dozen, devastating slashes strike a target. The speed is so great, it's impossible to identify who the user is striking, so if anyone gets close to the initial target, the caster could wind up switching targets mid-way.

Gaster's Mandate of Impetuous Strife (Alacrity): What's the definition of alacrity? There you go.

Enfeeble: Also fairly self-explanatory.

Crystal Nova: A rather sudden burst of icy wind strikes the ground in a circle from about two meters from ground level.

Mana Shield: Man, these spell explanations write themselves (mostly).

Earth Spike: a burst of stalagmines shoot out diagonally facing away from the caster. They shoot out in a short line and strike unwary foes.

-~Item explanations~-

Shiva's Guard (AKA Lich's Frost Armour in item form): Nigh unbreakable enchanted silver pauldrons. When a small amount of mana is fed into them, a cold aura emanates around your person. If a larger burst of mana is fed to them, the aura also comes out in a burst, attacking everything around the wearer with an arctic blast.

Aghanim's Scepter (AKA Ulti Stick): Named after Rubick's father, his finest work. A staff arch-mages would _kill their own mothers_ to own, it is embedded with a Magus's power, who had reached arcane strength comparable to that of a demi-god.

Veil of Discord (AKA a Mage's Janggo): A surprisingly durable hood and cape combo. Once fed a burst of mana, it will unleash a burst of unstable energy that amplifies many kinds of magic damage on those struck (went unused, will bring it back when I remember to).

Linken's Sphere (AKA 'Fuck Fiend's Grip!'): A seemingly normal blue crystal sphere, but once gazed into, one can see a perpetually moving swirl of energy. Will block nearly any spell that directly targets the caster, but the sphere will need time to regain its enough energy to block another spell. The bearer can choose to also transfer the spell shield to another, but the shield will not last forever like it would in storage of the crystal (until it's used up, of course).

Ghost Scepter (AKA 'Fuck Phantom Assassin!'): An item of otherworldly origins, once mana is channeled into it, will temporarily send you to its home plane. While the caster is drastically slower in the ghost plane, they are unable to interact with the physical world entirely, unable to strike anyone physically but also unable to be struck, although any magic damage they incur is greatly increased.

Boots of Travel (AKA fifth item): Enchanted to make one a little more fleet of foot and with its own teleportation spell. In order to teleport, a glyph must be inscribed on the person or building one wishes to 'port to.

Octarine Core: A mixture of technology and sorcery of the finest kind, a unique gem known as the Soul Booster is its magical focus. The bearer is able to cast spells much quicker, and also has a massive increase to his mana pool and stamina, compared to the other items in Rubick's arsenal.

Scythe of Vyse (AKA Sheepstick): A wand made by the cult of Vyse. At the cost of a large amount of mana, will turn a target into a pig. If the target isn't magic capable, they're a swine forever. If the target is a Magus, the duration depends on the will and magic power of the target.

Aether Lens (is the crystal Rubick's modified Aghanim's Scepter is using as its focus): A magic amplifying crystal, it increases the range and damage of spells by a small but noticeable amount.

A/N: Pretty sure I covered everything. If not, check the wiki, it'll tell you the gist. This idea came to me on my two week long Rubick binge and wow did I stomp. At the end of the week, I got bored of rekking n00bs and imagined if Rubick (if he _could_ feel anything) felt the same way I did. And then this happened. The Grand Magus will most likely stay freelancer, unlike the old healer bitch in the woods whose name I forget. Think of Rubick as Chaotic Neutral and you'll have his mind-set down-pat. And no shipping. You folks do that enough for the entire fandom, thank you ve~ry much! Call me out on my OP as fuck character in a PM, constructive criticism in review if you please. B. Suarez, signing off.


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